Asked if Tom Brady’s 38 game-winning drives in the fourth quarter made him akin to a vampire, meaning you’d have to drive a stake through his heart to kill him, Rex Ryan quipped: “I thought about doing all that stuff. But I think league would fine me."

Jokes aside, the steady play of Brady -- the New England Patriots quarterback who wears No. 12 -- this season has helped hoist the Patriots atop the AFC East with a 5-1 record. Since the start of the 2001 season, the Jets’ opponent Sunday has a 61-15 mark against division members.

Ryan’s current quarterback, Geno Smith, has a higher completion percentage and 10 more passing yards than Brady this season. Still, Smith has thrown 10 interceptions -- the third-highest mark in the NFL -- and tossed three during the Jets’ final 12 offensive plays of a Week 2 loss to the Patriots.

As Smith prepares for his second game against the Patriots, the closing moments of the loss have stuck with the rookie quarterback.

“Those 12 plays, those three interceptions in the end, are what changed it for us,” Smith said. “We had a chance to kick a field goal and another chance to go down and tie the game but we didn’t get it done.”

Ryan said he hopes as Smith develops, he will grow to resemble to quarterback on the opposite sideline this weekend.

“We’re worried about getting our quarterback to that level, and obviously every team is the league is trying to get that,” Ryan said. “Because if you have it you’ve got a chance to win year after year.”

Brady has led the Patriots on a three-year unbeaten run against the Jets, a five-game streak entering Sunday’s matchup. Muhammad Wilkerson, the defensive end who leads the Jets with five sacks this season, has not beaten the Patriots since the Jets drafted him in 2011.